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Three years after the critically acclaimed ‘Lullaby And The Ceaseless Roar’, legendary rock icon Robert Plant returns with his eleventh solo LP, ‘Carry Fire’, a record that sees a continuation in the expansive experimental rock tone present in his most recent work.

There are slight touches of former band Led Zeppelin on opening track ‘The Mary Queen’, a stomping acoustic number that sees Plant in reflective mood, crooning softly over an experimental folk tinged backing from touring band the Sensational Shapeshifters.

Plucky folk ballad ‘Season’s Song’ stands out as one of the album’s highlights as well as acting as the perfect example of Plant’s intention on merging the traditional folk rock sensibilities with an epic orchestral landscape. This is a familiar trait that flows throughout the album, which acts as a melting pot of abstract ideas thrown together by Plant and his band, from the jangly African guitar lines of title track ‘Carry Fire’ to the more industrial rock and sonic experimentation of ‘Bluebirds Over The Mountain’.

While ‘Carry Fire’ showcases some of Plant’s best and most confessional lyricism, there’s no denying that this is an album that stands out most for its lusciously complex musical structures and influences, allowing for it to purvey an other-worldly quality.

8/10

Words: Rory Marcham

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